Swiss Lonza to cut 193 staff in Visp; eyes €28m savings

25 March 2010 08:23[Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Switzerland’s Lonza Group said on Thursday it plans to cut 193 jobs at its site in Visp as part of a cost-cutting exercise to keep the fine chemical major’s Swiss operations competitive.

“Fixed costs in ?xml:namespace>Basel and Visp are to be reduced by Swiss franc (Swfr) 40m ($37m, €28m) over the next 18 months as part of a company-wide re-engineering initiative,” the company said in a statement.

The job cuts in Visp were part of the planned job losses of about 450 announced in October last year, Lonza said.

The company employs 3,092 for its operations across Switzerland. Downsizing of personnel would help the company achieve its goal of cutting annual cost by Swfr500m, it said.

“Our operations in Switzerland face great challenges. The global economic crisis and the structural changes in the pharma industry have accelerated and intensified the cost pressures we face,” said Stefan Borgas, CEO of Lonza.

“The measures we are implementing will allow our operations in Switzerland to remain competitive,” Borgas added.